Whenever I talk about this title with anyone they immediately say, “Oh, it“s like Harry Potter.”“ And I get why people would say that. It takes place in a school where the students learn occult practices. But even from the first issue, that was where the resemblance ended. There is no one kid who will save everybody. The school does not have the warm, friendly feel of Hogwarts.
This series really owes its roots, not to Rowling, but to another British story factory: Hammer Studios. It has the heavy, mysterious feel of those studio thrillers from the 60s and 70s. There is a level of chaos going on here that could consume any of the students before they solve the mystery of their school, defeat the hoards of bugs, fight back demons and hopefully some will manage to get back to class.
Normally, I dive in and dissect the plot and characters first in my reviews, but Veronica Fish“s art is so perfect for this book. Her art really set the tones and strikes the right balance of horror, suspense and humor. The cartoon style has really worked for this book much more than I thought it would when I initially looked at the the first issue. It is strange, you would think that her work on Archie comics would lend to the look here. But her work there was much more realistic.
Somehow the horror elements are conveyed better through this cartoony lens than if she would have adopted a more realistic style. The impact of people being swarmed and eaten by insects is magnified by the contrast of style and subject. I don“t think this book would have been anywhere near as successful had it tried to be more realistic.
As for the story, Evan Dorkin (Calla Cthulhu, Bill and Ted“s Excellent Comic Book) deftly manipulates the horror while slowly introducing elements that deepen the mystery of Blackwood even as he sets up the ending so it doesn“t feel like an out of the blue, undeserved twist. The students may not be the best at the mystic arts yet, but they all have a role to play. And they kids are forced to work together to solve what“s going on since the faculty is too busy trying to stop the man eating hordes of bugs.
This really has been a fun ride. I hope that we will see more adventures set in the school in the future. Fish and Dorkin have shown that they can produce a limited series with a big impact. I“d love to see what they think of next.
[yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]
Writer: Evan Dorkin
Artist: Veronica Fish
Letterer: Andy Fish
Cover Artist: Veronica Fish
Publisher: Dark Horse
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- Sent from the future by our Robot Ape overlords to preserve the timeline. Reading and writing about comics until the revolution comes. All hail the Orangutan Android Solar King!
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